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History of LSU

Louisiana
State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College had its origin in
certain land grants made by the United States government in 1806, 1811, and
1827 for use as a seminary of learning. In 1853, the Louisiana General Assembly
established the Seminary of Learning of the State of Louisiana near Pineville,
Louisiana. The institution opened January 2, 1860, with Col. William Tecumseh
Sherman as superintendent. The school closed June 30, 1861, because of the
Civil
War. It reopened on April 1, but was again closed on April 23, 1863, due to
the invasion of the Red River Valley by the federal army.

The seminary reopened October 2, 1865, only to be burned October 15, 1869.
On November 1, 1869, the institution resumed its exercises in Baton Rouge, where
it has since remained. In 1870, the name of the institution was changed to Louisiana
State University.

Louisiana State Agricultural & Mechanical College was established by an
act of the legislature, approved April 7, 1874, to carry out the United States
Morrill Act of 1862, granting lands for this purpose. It temporarily opened
in New Orleans, June 1, 1874, where it remained until it merged with Louisiana
State University in 1877.

Significant Dates

1853 Louisiana General Assembly passes legislation for state institution of
higher education, creating the Seminary of Learning of the State of Louisiana
(l'Universite' de l'Etat de la Louisiane).

1859(November) The institution's main building is completed near Pineville,
Louisiana. Col. W.T. Sherman accepts position as superintendent.

1860
(January 2) Seminary opens with five professors and 19 cadets (total would
eventually be 73).
(March) Name changed to Louisiana State Seminary of Learning & Military
Academy (le Lycee Scientifique et Militaire de l'Etat de la Louisiane).
General Assembly agreed to support as many as 150 cadets with scholarships
for boarding expenses. These cadets were referred to as "beneficiary" cadets.

1861(January) State militia takes control of the federal garrison known as
the Baton Rouge Arsenal. Only later would Louisiana officially secede from
the Union. Col. Sherman resigns.
(April) Student and faculty begin resigning in order to enlist in the Confederate
cause.
(June 31) Seminary closes.

1863(April 1) Prof. William A. Seay becomes superintendent.
(April 23) Seminary closes after invasion of Red River Valley by federal forces
under Gen. Banks. Military equipment donated to the Confederate Army, but library
and other items destroyed by order of Gen. T. Kilby Smith of the U.S. Army.
Structure saved thanks to Gen. W.T. Sherman.

1865(April) The Civil War ends.
(October 2) Seminary reopens and David F. Boyd is superintendent.

1870
(March) Seminary changes official title to The Louisiana State University (l'Universite'
de l'Etat de la Louisiane).

1872The Reveille is first published but has no regular schedule.

1873
Last class to graduate until after Reconstruction. Five classes had graduated
up to this point.
Supervisors passed an executive motion to place "beneficiary" cadets
on "indefinite leave" when the state failed to appropriate funds
for their scholarships. Enrollment after dismissal: 45. Only three professors
remain.

1874
Louisiana State Agricultural & Mechanical College is opened and domiciled
at the University of Louisiana (New Orleans) while waiting to occupy the Chalmette
campus.

1875
Title change of A&M college to Louisiana A&M College. The institution
is racially integrated at the Chalmette campus.

1876
Acts 103 and 145 of 1876 combine LSU and Louisiana A&M College.

1877
Reconstruction ends.
(June) Merger of LSU and Louisiana A&M College prompts the final title
change to Louisiana State University and A&M College. LSU becomes a land-grant
institution.
(October 5) Classes resume.
Title of superintendent changes to president.

1878
City of Baton Rouge offers land for dairy farm (Perkins Road).

1880
David F. Boyd resigns. Gov. Wiltz appoints a new faculty and Col. William Preston
Johnson appointed president.

1882
LSU confers bachelor degrees for the first time since 1874.

1883
Col. Johnson resigns and James W. Nicholson is appointed president.

1886
LSU moves from quarters at the Institute for the Deaf, Dumb, and Blind to the
federal garrison grounds (now the site of the state capitol).
(September) Department of the Interior transfers title of Baton Rouge Arsenal
to the state.
D.F. Boyd conducts repairs on new campus without reimbursement from the Board
of Supervisors and resigns to teach. LSU moves to new campus.
Thomas D. Boyd
is named interim president and withdraws his name so that David may be rehired.
" Beneficiary" cadet
program reinstated.

1887
James W. Nicholson renamed president.

1888
The Boyd brothers depart: Thomas to the State Normal School (Natchitoches);
David resigns.

1893
LSU plays first football game, a 34-0 loss to Tulane.

1896
James W. Nicholson resigns. Thomas D. Boyd returns as president. LSU adopts
the tiger as the official mascot.

1897
Audubon Sugar School transferred to LSU, requiring two years of study in Baton
Rouge and two years of work in New Orleans.
(January 14) First issue of the new, permanent Reveille printed.

1899
David F. Boyd dies.

1900
First edition of The Gumbo (the University yearbook) published.

1902
LSU gets title to the Pentagon Barracks and campus for educational use only.

1904
Olivia Davis transfers to LSU to become its first female student, she graduates
in 1905.

1906
First women (17) enroll as freshmen, among them Annie Boyd, Thomas D.Boyd's daughter.
Law school opens.

1908
Formation of the Colleges of Agriculture, Arts & Sciences, Engineering,
and Education.

1909
Graduate department opens.

1916
National Defense Act passes requiring military training. LSU issues the olive
drab uniform in November (uniforms would soon change to West Point gray).

1923
(November 1) Thomas D. Boyd offers resignation at age 70, but the death
of Link prevents Boyd from leaving. Wogan & Bernard finish the late Theodore
Link's plan.

1924
LSU receives first live mascot named "Little-Eat-'Em-Up" as a gift
from an alumnus in South America. The tiger was a black bobtailed tiger. He
was quickly deposed after the football season for "failure to act."
(Thanksgiving Day) Tulane vs. LSU was first game on new campus at the temporarily
named Tiger Stadium, a name it still retains. LSU lost.
Division of Continuing Education opens.

1931
LSU School of Medicine (New Orleans) opens down the street from Tulane Medical
School.
Establishment of Graduate School of Library Science, College of Chemistry & Physics,
and School of Music.

1932
Thomas D. Boyd dies and is buried at Magnolia Cemetery.
The move to the new campus is finally complete.

1933
Junior Division (the underclassman college) opens.

1934
The Northeast Center established in Monroe. It is the first branch school of
LSU.
(December) The Reveille Seven expelled for exposing Sen. Long's censorship
of the paper at "his" school.

1935
LSU Press founded.
Graduate School created (replaces Graduate department)
(July) The Southern Review first published.
(September 8) US Sen. Huey Long is shot by Dr. Weiss and subsequently dies
on September 10.

1936
Mike I (formerly known as Sheik) arrives by rail from the Little Rock Zoo.
Students block-off campus; classes canceled.

1950
McNeese Junior College gains autonomy as a four-year institution.
LSU Board of Education enrolls black students into graduate program.

1951
Dr. Stoke steps down and Gen. Troy H. Middleton is appointed president. University
College is formed.

1953
A.P. Tureaud, Jr., LSU's first black undergraduate student, was admitted under
court order to the 3-2 undergraduate pre-law and law degree program, which
was unique to LSU. He transfers before the end of the fall term.

1954Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, strikes down racial
segregation in public schools.

1956
Legislature approves LSU branch in New Orleans.
(June 29) Mike I dies. Mike II ascends to the throne after February birth in
New Orleans Zoo.
Nichols State separates from LSU.

1958
(February 1) Board of Supervisors approve the official seal of a mother pelican
with three young.
(May) Mike II dies of pneumonia. Mike III, from Seattle Zoo, ascends to the
throne.
(September) Classes begin at LSU-New Orleans under Dean Homer Hitt.

1960
LSU-Alexandria opens on land deeded in 1945.

1962
Gen. Middleton resigns and John A. Hunter is named president.

1964
(June) Six black students enroll in undergraduate studies.

1965
(February 6) By act of Legislature, LSU System established, Hunter becomes
president of the LSU System.
Cecil Grady Taylor becomes first chancellor of LSU (main campus in Baton Rouge).
School of Environmental Design is formed.

1976
(August 12) Mike III dies. Mike IV (b. May 15, 1974) ascends to the LSU throne
from his home in Busch Gardens of Tampa, Florida.

1977
Hebert Law Center becomes an autonomous unit in the LSU System.
First class graduates from the School of Veterinary Medicine.

1978
LSU becomes the 13th university to be named a sea-grant institution. (LSU is
one of 25 universities to have land- and sea-grant status.)

1979
Law School changes name to Paul M. Hebert Law Center.

1981
(January) Chancellor Murrill resigns and Otis B. Wheeler is named acting chancellor.
(June) James H. Wharton becomes chancellor.
John Kennedy Toole posthumously wins the Pulitzer Prize for his fictional work, A
Confederacy of Dunces. (The book was published by LSU Press in April 1980.)

1999
William L. Jenkins resigns as LSU chancellor and is appointed president of
LSU System.
(April 16) Mark Emmert is appointed chancellor of LSU.

2000
The LSU's baseball team and women's track and field team each captured a national
title. The women's track team earned its 12th national championship and the
baseball team won its fifth championship title.
(April 2000-April 2001) LSU's Diamond Jubilee, commemorating 75 years on the
current Baton Rouge campus.

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